Carolyn McCall darted into the Institute of Contemporary Arts on the Mall in central London last Tuesday night. She didn’t have much time.

She stayed barely half an hour to clink glasses at the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Awards. The chief executive of Guardian Media Group (GMG) stood chatting with another former winner, Dame Gail Rebuck, boss of the publisher Random House.

By the time she returned to her car, McCall’s phone was buzzing. One message from Sly Bailey, chief executive of Trinity Mirror, the newspaper group, read: “This is absolutely brilliant news.” There were plenty more in a similar vein.

McCall’s attempt to keep a low profile before Wednesday morning’s official announcement had failed. News had leaked out that after 24